Doctor Mike's Opinion on Gaga's Stance on Medication

[Mister G 9,165]

After I broke my foot I was miserable for months after. Sounds stupid but the trauma of the injury messed with me and I would feel down and depressed most days. I saw my doctor once last year and took an assessment on mental health concerns. She  referred me to a psychiatrist. I don’t care how hot this doctor is, some training in the area doesn’t make you a subject matter expert on the subject. If it’s not your primary area of focus, then you’re probably not the right person to offer too much insight.

[Economy 44,040]

17 minutes ago, ItWasntLaauv said:

I mean he’s a medical professional, idk what he said yet, but I’m more inclined to believe medical advice from somebody who studied for years and has a degree in the field rather than someone who doesn’t.

Edit: Ughhh did Gaga really say that? I’m disappointed, some people can’t live without antidepressants, that’s so dangerous that she’s putting that into the ether with the platform she has.

 

11 minutes ago, Gagaloo92 said:

Yea, because she's a doctor and knows everything there is to know about. Is an expert. 

Which is totally how she acted and made it seem during the interview

So ridiucous. Gaga literally mentioned go to your own doctor and talk to a mental health professional since everyone is different and needs their own plan. 

She basically said that ur family doctor shouldn't be prescribing the stuff that it should be a phychiatrist

 

While phychiatrists will be more specialized in the mind than a general practitioner, he gave good reasons why her saying that is problematic

[Gov Hooka 8,008]

43 minutes ago, Doot said:

Nope, he's incorrect. 

A primary care doctor should not be prescribing you anti depressants or anything of that nature. Gaga was correct with that statement. 

A primary care doctor is not trained to determine proper mental health treatments. It's not what they went to school for. 

This is not true at all. Primary care physicians DO have the expertise and training to diagnose mental health problems and provide basic care, which in some cases include prescriptions for antidepressants. My father is a family practice physician and mother is a psychiatrist and I have asked them lol

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

3 hours ago, AlexanderMagno said:

Yes, Gaga is ABSOLUTELY wrong.

 

It's not even about rich vs poor!! Primary care physicians ARE SPECIALISTS.

 

Primary care physicians are doctors who can be absolutely qualified to prescribe ANY DRUG. A primary care physician is a specialist in many areas!! Only when the situation is very severe should the patient be referenced to a specialist. And, of course, some primary care physicians can have a bigger background in different areas (for example, a primary care physician who is more interested in pediatrics and has a better training there, and not psychiatry, should always reference to a specialist knowing his/her limits).

 

Primary care physicians' stigma is a big issue around the world, but it sounds awful in the USA. Nothing about what Gaga said is true and this truly is a very wrong perception of what a doctor is and can be.

 

Anyway, this might be all about the healthcare system in the US, which is... a bit of a mess. Usually, primary care physicians/family doctors are the first step in EVERY situation except acute emergencies (and even there they can be the first step) and only afterwards should the patient be directed to a specialty. Ideally, the patient doesn't even have access to a specialist, unless he is refered by the primary care physician.

You're wrong, actually. 

At least here in the US, primary physicians are general health people who are not specialists in mental illness. Mental health is not widely combined with primary health care in the US. 

Yes, maybe a primary care physician can prescribe antidepressants but they're not necessarily trained in mental health and aren't as equipped at dealing with that.

Which is the whole reason you should seek out a psychiatrist or at least someone trained in mental illness who would actually have more knowledge and experience with helping a person decide what medication is good for them.

So Gaga was right, actually, and is not wrong. You're wrong. 

[nenhures 12,846]

7 minutes ago, Gagaloo92 said:

Um what?? I watched her entire interview with Oprah which this is about and she said nothing of the sort. 

The only thing she mentioned is that she doesn't take narcotics and that they're addictive. That she does other things to help manage her pain. 

She also said she takes anxiety meds, and an antipsychotic. I believe she said she also takes an antidepressant, so why on earth would she advise people not to take them? 

In fact, she advised everyone to go seek professional advise for their own case. 

Like please. She helps run a foundation that studies mental health. She's not gonna go around telling people that. 

She did say that primary care doctors shouldn't be prescribing medication in place of a psychiatrist, not because she was discouraging people from taking meds or putting them in danger but because sometimes primary care doctors don't have the time or knowledge to properly assist a patient.

The problem the doctor in the video and some us have with that is that unfortunately not everybody has access to a psychiatrist and most of the time these primary care doctors are our only shot at dealing with our mental health, so we're elaborating on why while, yes, it would be ideal for everybody to go to a specialist, that's not the reality us non-rich people live in and even though she means well she doesn't fully understand the situation.

She's not telling people not to take meds and yes she advised them to seek help but the problem is that not everybody is able to get said help and that's what where we're saying she went wrong.

You're misunderstanding the situation here. No need to go to great lengths to defend Gaga, she isn't ill-willed but still makes mistakes like all of us.

[Economy 44,040]

1 minute ago, MrG1087 said:

After I broke my foot I was miserable for months after. Sounds stupid but the trauma of the injury messed with me and I would feel down and depressed most days. I saw my doctor once last year and took an assessment on mental health concerns. She  referred me to a psychiatrist. I don’t care how hot this doctor is, some training in the area doesn’t make you a subject matter expert on the subject. If it’s not your primary area of focus, then you’re probably not the right person to offer too much insight.

That's the thing tho. General practitioners are not much of specialists in any specific thing. Their training and knowledge is more generalized. But that reasoning they could never manage anything so what would be the point in even having them?

 

He said family doctors are the first line and if the case gets more complicated then refer which I think makes sense

 

If resources weren't limited we could refer every single person to a specialist... But when 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 ppl have mental illness of some degree how is that possible?

 

Doctors get training on mental health as well in part so they can handle more mild cases themselves 

 

Also as he pointed out, in the US coverage can be an issue for many. It's better to get care from just family doctor than no care at all

 

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

2 minutes ago, Economy said:

 

She basically said that ur family doctor shouldn't be prescribing the stuff that it should be a phychiatrist

 

While phychiatrists will be more specialized in the mind than a general practitioner, he gave good reasons why her saying that is problematic

Which she's correct in that in the context of the US. 

Maybe primary or general care doctors are more readily having mental health training here, but it is not widely the case here. The US health system is effed up and hasn't always included mental health with physical health. So many family doctors and such do not have the training that should be necessary to deal with people with mental illness. 

Which means she correct in stating that in the US since it is not necessarily the case they have the training even if they can prescribe the medication. 

[Economy 44,040]

6 minutes ago, Gagaloo92 said:

You're wrong, actually. 

At least here in the US, primary physicians are general health people who are not specialists in mental illness. Mental health is not widely combined with primary health care in the US. 

Yes, maybe a primary care physician can prescribe antidepressants but they're not necessarily trained in mental health and aren't as equipped at dealing with that.

Which is the whole reason you should seek out a psychiatrist or at least someone trained in mental illness who would actually have more knowledge and experience with helping a person decide what medication is good for them.

So Gaga was right, actually, and is not wrong. You're wrong. 

The user you quoted is literally a doctor 

 

Anyway he's from Portugal so the system may vary

 

I know here in Canada all doctors that graduated after 2006 now have to have training in that area to help cover the crisis cuz the system can't handle every single person with an issue being refered to a phychiatrist

 

The YouTube doctor I think made a valid point. It's not possible to refer every single person so fam doctors gotta do what they can on their part. It's still better than no care at all

 

If someone can't see a specialist either cuz one isn't available or because they can't afford one... Should the family doctor just do nothing?

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

1 minute ago, nenhures said:

She did say that primary care doctors shouldn't be prescribing medication in place of a psychiatrist, not because she was discouraging people from taking meds or putting them in danger but because sometimes primary care doctors don't have the time or knowledge to properly assist a patient.

The problem the doctor in the video and some us have with that is that unfortunately not everybody has access to a psychiatrist and most of the time these primary care doctors are our only shot at dealing with our mental health, so we're elaborating on why while, yes, it would be ideal for everybody to go to a specialist, that's not the reality us non-rich people live in and even though she means well she doesn't fully understand the situation.

She's not telling people not to take meds and yes she advised them to seek help but the problem is that not everybody is able to get said help and that's what where we're saying she went wrong.

You're misunderstanding the situation here. No need to go to great lengths to defend Gaga, she isn't ill-willed but still makes mistakes like all of us.

I know she said that. And she's mostly correct in saying that. I've already explained why in posts above. 

You're right in stating not everyone has access to a psychiatrist, and that's a problem. It's not as if she said don't not go to your primary care doctor though if you don't have that. 

[Mister G 9,165]

5 minutes ago, Economy said:

That's the thing tho. General practitioners are not much of specialists in any specific thing. Their training and knowledge is more generalized. But that reasoning they could never manage anything so what would be the point in even having them?

 

He said family doctors are the first line and if the case gets more complicated then refer which I think makes sense

 

If resources weren't limited we could refer every single person to a specialist... But when 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 ppl have mental illness of some degree how is that possible?

 

Doctors get training on mental health as well in part so they can handle more mild cases themselves 

 

Also as he pointed out, in the US coverage can be an issue for many. It's better to get care from just family doctor than no care at all

 

Okay I live in the US and I can tell you for a fact that I’m fully aware that insurance coverage is a problem for many. Mental Health wasn’t even being recognized by insurance companies until recently as part of certain coverage plans. Only took forever. At the end of the day I stand firm that if I’m struggling with mental health, I would want a trained professional in that area to offer a proper diagnosis. If someone only has access to a primary care provider then yes that’s better than nothing at all.

[TheQueenEnthusiast 937]

Alright, like, as SOMEONE who's been being treated for years, like all he's doing is babbling. Literally babbling about American structural issues regarding our healthcare. PCPs definitely SHOULD NOT be the ones treating you for mental health. I've learned this. I told my doctor I think I was going through heavy depression, and dismissed it as migraines and needing to get more sun. I literally have mental health instabilities within the family and told him that. A lot of PCPs are older and usually carry a huge bias regarding mental health.

People need to stop viewing doctors on a high-horse. They are people. They carry biases. And a lot of them are in there for money. I've learned a lot of the people in mental health do it because they love it in contrast to general doctors who usually do it for family, money, status. 

[Gagaloo911 12,959]

1 minute ago, Economy said:

The user you quoted is literally a doctor 

 

Anyway he's from Portugal so the system may vary

 

I know here in Canada all doctors that graduated after 2006 now have to have training in that area to help cover the crisis cuz the system can't handle every single person with an issue being refered to a phychiatrist

 

The YouTube doctor I think made a valid point. It's not possible to refer every single person so fan doctors gotta do what they can on their part. It's still better than no care at all

The US is not Portugal, and is not Canada. 

I do not know the requirements in the US. I know that more recent graduates are starting to be required to have that kind of training now. 

That doesn't mean it's readily the case though. The US is a massive country. 

Also, in my own experiences I had to go to a therapist who would refer what drugs I should be on to my doctor who would then prescribe me them. 

My doctor wasn't the one making the diagnosis or deciding the drugs since they didn't have the training. 

[ChromeAngel 3,230]

All I’m going to say is that all of the primary care doctors I’ve had have been so reckless and naive about prescribing me ssri’s, mood stabilizers, and anxiety medication. Most of them seemed to have no idea what they were doing and it has lead me to very terrible and dark times in my life. When I was 18 I was put on Zoloft and it made me very suicidal, which is a known side effect when given to teenagers or children. 

I saw a legit psychiatrist for awhile and it was an entirely different experience. While the other doctors seemed to pick meds at random and hope for the best, the psychiatrist was going in with real educated guesses and she understood the importance keeping an eye on me. She explained the medications on a much deeper level than the others. 

[Economy 44,040]

1 minute ago, MrG1087 said:

Okay I live in the US and I can tell you for a fact that I’m fully aware that insurance coverage is a problem for many. Mental Health wasn’t even being recognized by insurance companies until recently as part of certain coverage plans. Only took forever. At the end of the day I stand firm that if I’m struggling with mental health, I would want a trained professional in that area to offer a proper diagnosis.

I'm not disagreeing with u. I have had my issues too and been dealt both with a specialist and just my family doctor and it's obvious the phychiatrist has a deeper knowledge that's why when things got really bad I got my referral. My fam doctor knew he could do more (even tho he got some mental training himself as he graduated after the new standards)

 

But what I'm trying to get at, is that if some ppl can't get access to a phychiatrist, it's either their family doctor or nothing at all...

 

So in that case what's the doctor suppostu do? I think it's still better for a doctor to manage the patient to the best of their abilities than to do nothing at all and leave the patient totally on their own

[Mister G 9,165]

1 minute ago, Gagaloo92 said:

The US is not Portugal, and is not Canada. 

I do not know the requirements in the US. I know that more recent graduates are starting to be required to have that kind of training now. 

That doesn't mean it's readily the case though. The US is a massive country. 

Also, in my own experiences I had to go to a therapist who would refer what drugs I should be on to my doctor who would then prescribe me them. 

My doctor wasn't the one making the diagnosis or deciding the drugs since they didn't have the training. 

The other thing people fail to realize is that some doctors may have a bias and feel that mental health is very much still a tabu thing to discuss. I actually had a friend tell me that his PCP gave him prescriptions for his mental health concerns and when he started seeing a psychiatrist, she prescribed something completely different. In a nutshell, his PCP gave him the wrong meds and the wrong dosage.